Steelers' Alejandro Villanueva Inspired Former Teammate To Follow In His Footsteps

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a history of players with a military background, with Rocky Bleier and Alejandro Villanueva headlining the list of veterans that served their country. Villanueva went from Army Ranger, to the blindside protector for one of the best offensive lines in football at the time. For a short duration, he was the offensive lineman that young players and prospects looked up to and strived to be. One of his teammates was inspired by him and wanted to follow in his footsteps, but not just as a player. 

"My last year in the NFL, my second year in Pittsburgh, I was going through camp, recovering from surgery, and just realized I was behind guys like Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro. I was sitting in the hot tub after a practice talking to Al Villanueva, and he told me a personal story about his time in the army and why he joined the army that got the gears turning for me."

When you're playing behind a top-tier interior line like Manhart was, there's really not much of a chance to play unless someone gets injured. It's even worse when you get injured yourself when you're just trying to make the 53-man roster in the first place. Manhart was on his fourth team in two years, and he was just trying to recover in time to earn a roster spot in his third year in the NFL. 

Manhart Left The Steelers To Chase New Dream

After talking with Villanueva, Manhart took his lessons to heart and decided to make some of his own military stories. He enrolled in the army and even graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England. After all of his years of training and serving, he is no longer seen as a journeyman backup that might make a practice squad. He is now known as First Lieutenant Cole Manhart. 

Throughout the interview, Manhart kept bringing up the impact that Villanueva had on him and how he sowed the seeds to get him into the army. Six years of service and numerous accomplishments all came to be because of a story in Latrobe. 

"The biggest off-field moment was that talk with Al Villanueva; that private story he shared with me. I’ve been in the army for six years now and it all started with him taking the time after a tough day at Latrobe to talk to me about the path I’d need to take to transition from the NFL to the army."

While Villanueva and Manhart both played football and served in the military, they had completely different paths. Villanueva attended West Point and even played football for the Army Black Knights. After graduating, he went into the army and had three separate tours in Afghanistan before retiring from the military to go back to football. 

After a failed stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers signed him and turned him from a defensive end to an offensive tackle. He became the starting left tackle in 2015 and kept that position up until his contract officially expired after the 2020 season. 

Unlike Manhart, who struggled in football and chose to serve afterwards, Villanueva went to the army before signing in the NFL, but he still had a return to the army as a backup option if he couldn't make it at the NFL level. It's a good thing the Steelers found him, so Mike Munchak could get him to battle in the frontlines of the gridiron, as opposed to the frontlines overseas again.